That Which Is Lost
by Jaime L. Hatheway
Summary: KH TRC Crossover. Before Tokyo Arc, after KH 2. Syaoran and Company have landed in a strange world infested with dark beings. Here they run across the Keyblade's chosen one, and their fates are intertwined


**Chapter 1- Landing**

The pale morning sky seemed to melt to the ground as a group of weary travelers set down in another foreign world. A green field still fresh with the morning dew lay before them, sparkling as if it were planted with precious gems, instead of vibrant wildflowers. A gentle forest loomed not far in the distance, and from their hilltop in the meadow, they could see a quaint village; scattered with colorful rooftops bathed in the morning rays, and a large ornate clock tower, whose chime rang to the 7 o'clock in the brisk start of the day.

The white ball of fur fell silently to the ground with a cute grin, "Here we are in a new world," it squeaked, before being distracted by the beautiful flowers, "Oh, pretty, pretty, pretty," it piped, happily picking a number in its tiny paws, "Fai, aren't they?" the creature asked, turning to the heavily garbed wizard.

He pulled the hood of his long, white fur coat down to flash a smile at the little beast, his flaxen hair blowing in the soft breeze as he spoke, "Oh, Mokona," he said, sliding the outer layer of his outfit off to reveal his azure blue undercoat, "You are too adorable," Fai added before turning to the gruff ninja behind him, "Wouldn't you agree, Kuro-pu?"

Standing with his sword over his shoulder, the warrior flashed a threatening gaze at the mage with his red eyes, "The bunny's as hyper as ever," he replied calmly, before exploding in reply to the ridiculous nickname, dropping his sword and chasing the one who named him so, "And stop calling me Kuro-bear or whatever!" he hollered, dashing after Fai, who had already anticipated such a reaction, and was now a few lengths ahead of him, giggling hysterically.

"Kuro-bear," he said, turning around to fully face Kurogane as he continued to run, "That's a good one. Remind me to add it to my repertoire," he said as he continued to sprint backwards, his arms casually perched behind his head and a large smile on his face and sparkling in his dazzling blue eyes.

"Cocky wizard," Kurogane grumbled under his breath as more distance was put between them, "You'll rue the day you ever met me, if you keep calling me those names, Mage," he shouted as he halted on top of a grassy hill, bending over to breathe between his knees, the wizard gone from his sight. Fai sat cross-legged at the bottom o the next rise, daintily picking wildflowers and forming them into crowns.

The young boy dropped his hood to toss his brown in the rising sun, his soft brown eyes smiling down at the young girl with him, "Are you all right, Princess?" he asked, turning to catch her gaze with his own.

Sakura faced him with a smile, her emerald eyes catching the morning rays as she replied, "I'm fine," she answered sweetly before turning away to watch the sun reveal itself behind a cloud, "It's been so long since I've seen the sun rising," she said, her voice with a gentle longing.

The young architect sighed quietly as he delved in his memories, and found the one he sought. They were young, about ten years of age, sitting on the palace garden's swing, watching the sun rise over the dunes of Clow country; sharing their dreams and plotting their next adventure. Whether Sakura had the same memory or not Syaoran could not be certain; but it would be undoubtedly different. His form and voice would be erased, plucked out of her very soul like an apple ripe from the tree. He'd gotten used to it now, and the princess had stopped asking about their past; like she knew the outcome of her questioning. The young pair locked gazes again and the silence was broken by Mokona, gathering Fai's coats and Kurogane's sword within itself for later use, and popping out a dark wicker basket, "Where did this come from?" Syaoran asked as the answer walked over the hill.

"Oh, I packed it before we left the last world. You never know if we'll land in an uninhabited land," Fai replied, stepping up to the basket and lifting its lid.

"That's the basket I made back in Phel," Sakura put in, pointing at the uniquely woven object.

"Correct, Princess," Fai said, raising an index to the sky, "You did such a wonderful job, so I bought it from the shop you were working in while we searched for your feather, and asked Mokona to hold onto it," he added as the white creature bounded into his lap, "In case we needed it," he stated, reaching in to fish out a loaf of bread, butter and some cheese, "Turns out that Mokona acts a cooling device, and keeps the food from melting or spoiling" he added as her sliced the fresh bread for the sandwiches.

"Is that another one of your secret talents, Mokona?" Syaoran inquired as he took a seat beside Sakura and took off his cloak.

Mokona leapt from Fai's lap and over to the boy, using a paw to cover his mouth, "But don't tell anyone," it stated, before pulling a piece of fruit out of the basket. The wizard quickly used his culinary talents to fix some healthy sandwiches topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a tangy mixture of tantalizing spreads.

The four were just about to dig in when Kurogane finally crawled over the last hill, wheezing and huffing as he fell in heap beside Fai, "Where do you get all that energy?" Kurogane asked in a muffle, his face buried into the lush green grass, painted orange by the rising sun.

The mage smiled and nibbled on his sandwich, "I drink lots of water, get plenty of rest, and eat lots of healthy vegetables," he stated, placing a sandwich on a napkin and pushing it over to the tuckered out warrior.

The ninja lifted his face, a few blades of grass falling from his forehead, and sneered at the food before dropping his face to the ground once more, "I hate vegetables," he grumbled.

Fai glanced down with a coy grin, and sighed "Well then, I guess you'll never catch me," he said, reaching down and slowly pulling the food away.

With unfathomable speed, considering his condition, Kurogane snatched the sandwich with a quick, "Gimme that," and devoured it almost instantaneously before sitting up to face the troupe, "So, Fuzzball; sense any feathers yet?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Mokona growled slightly, "Mokona is not "Fuzzball". Mokona is "Mokona"," it corrected before hopping on top of Fai's fair head and stretching its ears out like antennae, to pick up the feathers sense.

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Deep in the forest outside of the village, as the rays caught the edges of the branches, another group set down in an odd space craft. The first to set foot on the new world was a strange looking dog who walked on two legs, dressed in green and orange garments, and wielding a large shield, "Gawrsh," he stated, grabbing his chin as he surveyed the wood, "This sure doesn't look like any world we've landed on before," he said, scooping up a daisy that was growing by a tree stump.

The next to step forth from the vessel was a white duck dressed in blue a carrying a large, colorful staff, "Goofy!" he quacked in anger, "Maybe if you would've taken a left turn at Atlantica, like the Chesire Cat told us," he added, his rage beginning to fume, "We wouldn't have landed on this weird world!" he concluded, flailing his arms around as he bounced in place.

A heart-warming chuckle came out of the ship, and a young girl with red hair, and dressed in pink, appeared, "Oh, Donald," she said, gently placing her hand on the talking duck's shoulder, "You shouldn't be so hard on him," she added before walking over to pick flowers with Goofy.

"At least there don't appear to be any Heartless around," a young man uttered as he took his first step into the green wood, his silver locks flowing as he walked over to his trio of comrades, "Be on your guard at all times, Kairi," he said, as he leaned in close before walking over to lean against a tree trunk, crossing his arms over his slightly exposed chest, and letting out deep sigh.

The final member of the group stepped out as the space ship shrank and slipped into the younger man's pocket. He was not much younger than the other young man, and had spiky brown hair, wearing a garment of ornate fashion, and wielding a large key, "Easy for you to say, Riku," he said nonchalantly, hoisting the Keyblade over his shoulder, "You're always on your guard," he stated as he too joined the group.

Kairi got up and gave the brown-haired boy a gentle jab in the side, "Oh, Sora," she said sweetly, and grabbing his arm to lean her head on his shoulder, Sora doing the same, "This place is gorgeous," the girl added, darting her eyes about to take in the entire forest. The green leaves blew up in the canopy, causing millions of light fragments to filter down onto the forest floor, like dancing fireflies. A ripe smell of sap and sage filled all their nostrils and the cool morning breeze refreshed the strange troupe.

The silver-haired young man shook his head at the doting couple, "Give me a break, you guys," he said with a slight chuckle, before becoming silent and attentive. Suddenly, a twig snapped and Riku immediately got to his feet, The Way to Dawn Keyblade appearing in his hand, "I knew it would only be a matter of time before they showed up," he said deeply as five Neoshadow Heartless surrounded them. Donald and Goofy got to work immediately as Kairi called her Flower Keyblade, Sora unleashed Oathkeeper on the enemies, and Riku flipped in to add his aid. Each member took on an enemy, slashing at it with their weapons, but as the fight raged on, it became quite apparent that neither of them was making any progress, "They aren't receiving any damage!" Riku shouted as he rolled on the ground to avoid an attack.

The young girl yelped as the Neoshadow crashed against her Blade, "They aren't weakening either," she managed to utter as the Heartless pushed her to the ground.

Sora held his own against his opponent, but noticed Kairi in distress, "Kairi!" he called, trying to push the Neoshadow away so he could assist his love.

"We're coming, Kairi!" Goofy put it, throwing his shield like a discus to distract the adversary from the fallen maiden. Donald unleashed a lightning attack from his position to add assistance to the bumbling dog, before turning his full attention to his own enemy.

Sora managed to shove the dark creature off of him to call to his friends, "Well, if an all-out brawl won't do it," Sora said, as the five of them got together in a circle to face their query, "Let's do this together!" he commanded, calling out the Limit to his comrades. Donald conjured powerful Thunder, Blizzard, Fire, and Lightning spells, lodging them into Goofy's shield as it turned horizontal and started spinning in the air like a Frisbee. Kairi's blade began to glow a rosy color as she let out her Petal Harmony attack. Riku's blade began glowing as well, his a dark crimson, as he manifested his power Darkness Rising into the mix. Finally, Sora thrust his blade in as it radiate a blinding white, with his True Light attack, joining hands with Kairi, who in turn grabbed Riku's, and the trio thrust their Keyblades into Goofy's shield, hurtling in a deadly circle around the Heartless, vanquishing them in a golden illumination. The five of them let out quiet sighs of relief, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Being the strongest, Riku was the first to recover, "That seemed a bit over-kill, don't you think?" he commented as The Way to Dawn vanished in his palm.

The young princess was still breathing deeply, "I know the Heartless are suppose to get stronger, but," she added as Sora finished her sentence.

"They seemed nearly invincible," he concluded as Oathkeeper left his right hand.

Donald got to his webbed feet and dusted himself off as he turned to face his friends, "Well, let's get moving before more come back!" he suggested, pointing in the direction of the nearby village. Catching sight of where the flustered duck was pointing, the group was in a unanimous agreement and five of them set off.

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As Mokona made an attempt to detect Sakura's feather fragment, the other four busied themselves with other tasks. Fai; whose neck beginning to get sore from the weight of the little beast; had set it down on the ground and focused his hidden creative talents on teaching Princess Sakura how to weave daisy crowns. Kurogane was doing some tutoring of his own, skillfully demonstrating to Syaoran how to properly sharpen his blade, with the pupil following his examples.

The sun was now higher in the sky, reaching its beams out over the landscape to wrap the travelers in its shine, and Mokona finally dropped its ears, turning to the rest of the travelers, "I think I feel a feather over in that direction," it said, pointing a white paw towards the village with the clock tower.

As the fluffy creature finished its statement, Kurogane sheathed his sword, "Took you long enough," he said, rising out of the grass.

With eyes dazzling, Fai turned to the malcontented ninja, "Oh, don't be so harsh. If Mokona had not taken so long, you never would have had enough time to sharpen your sword to its full potential, Kurgy," the wizard jested.

"Maybe I'll give you a demonstration on how sharp it really is, Mage," Kurogane threatened, his still sheathed sword rattling in his grip.

Fai simply smiled, "Oops, looks like I got him mad again," he stated with a warm chuckle.

As she put the final blossom in her crown, Sakura looked up to see Syaoran standing beside her, "Shall we get going, Princess?" he proposed, reaching out a hand to her. She nodded with a grim smile, taking his hand and pulling herself to her feet. It had been a long while since they'd found any feathers, and the lack of strength was weakening the poor girl. Mokona took all their weapons and spare attire in itself before the five began their trek towards the village, passing through the meadow, arriving at the entrance to the vast forest.

Fai and Kurogane stopped and turned to the young lad, "So, are we going through or around?" Kurogane asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The wizard also had the same question, "Who knows how long it could take before we reach that town," glancing over to Sakura who was leaning against a tree to take a breather.

With his chin perched in his palm, Syaoran began to weigh out each situation, browsing through each pro and con, doing his best not to miss anything important, while Mokona sat on his shoulder and played lookout.

What none of the voyagers had noticed, was though Sakura was weak, she was slowly drifting away from the group, and into the trees, her eyes half glazed in a trance-like state.

The white beast was the first to spot her and began hopping up and down on the young boy's shoulder, "Sakura!" it called out, but the young girl gave no reply.

Syaoran gasped to himself when he realized she was gone and took a slight shock when the quiet ninja hollered to her as well, "Princess!" he shouted, his hands cupped on the sides of his mouth to amplify his cry, "Where does she think she's going?" he asked the remaining members.

Mokona's ears perked up as it caught a glimpse of Sakura's face, "Oh! Strange eyes!" it pointed out, jumping off of Syaoran's shoulder and hopping over to Fai.

With Mokona held tenderly in his arms, Fai used his unique sense of sight to focus in on the Princess, "Kurogane!" he called out with more direction than volume.

It was very rare an occasion that the wizard call him by his proper name, so the ninja took heed, "What is it, Fai?" he asked, stepping up beside his fair-haired friend.

A slight scowl crept onto the wizard's face, "It's like the times she goes searching for her feather," he said as he started walking in the same direction as Sakura; Syaoran running after her in hot pursuit, while Kurogane stayed Mokona and Fai.

The warrior nodded, "But, the bunny hasn't went all bug-eyed," he said, tapping the snowy creature on the crown.

The mage glanced over, his azure eyes catching Kurogane's red orbs, "Exactly," he said quietly, walking a little faster.

With a slight huff, the ninja looked over in reply, "So what do you think it could be? A trap?" he asked, his pace quickening to match the wizard's lengthy strides.

Fai nodded, "Let's just call it a hunch; whatever it is, it can't be good," he said, lowering his head as he spoke, as if he feared the words he'd just spoken, "Since Mokona is not reacting at all to Sakura's strange behavior," he paused to pet the little beast, "except with personal caring towards her condition, we can safely assume that this is not a feather's work," he said, now breaking into an easy jog.

"So, what do you think? Is she possessed or something?" Kurogane questioned, matching the wizard's pace once again.

The wizard nodded once more, "That is a possibility," he stated, his voice no longer slow and quiet, but quick and forceful, due to the amount of energy he was putting into his running, "and whoever is behind it obviously knows why we are here," he said, with a slight huff in his tone, "I'll bet Syaoran came to a similar conclusion," he finished as Kurogane gave a nod of acknowledgement.

The trees continued to part as Syaoran caught up to the Princess. She had led him to a clearing and the foot prints in the soil left obvious evidence of a struggle. He started to catch his breath and slowly approached her as she knelt down to pick up something, her back facing him, "Princess," Syaoran called as he drew nearer, "Why did you run off like that?" he said, gently touching her shoulder.

Sakura turned, her emerald eyes still glassy, and stood up to reveal a twitching black entity with glowing golden eyes in her arms, "It called to me," she stated blankly, stroking the small creature slowly.

At first, Syaoran thought it was some form of a cat, but it had no whiskers, tail or fur. Truth be told, it looked to have no skin at all' that its outer layer was merely shadows. It continued to twitch in the Princess' grasp, but appeared harmless. Kurogane and Fai soon too entered the clearing; Mokona still perched on the magician's shoulder. The ninja was the first to speak, "What is that thing?" he asked, reaching for his sword, soon realizing he'd stashed Pale Blue Ice in the Fuzzball.

Fai too was a little antsy, "I've certainly never seen anything like it," he said, almost with an immediate loathing for the creature.

Mokona dug its paws into Fai's dark blue coat, a distinguished frown forming on its face, "Trouble. Mokona does not like," it said in almost a growl.

Glancing to his shoulder, Fai uttered his question in a near whisper, "Why do you say that?"

It turned his face to meet Fai's, "I sense an empty feeling coming from that black thing," Mokona replied.

The blonde looked back to the weird creature that still clung to Sakura, "An empty feeling?"

The bunny-like being nodded, "It's the same feeling I sense when Sakura is asleep,"

Finally Fai put the pieces together, "You mean that thing doesn't have a heart?" and Mokona nodded once more. He and Kurogane walked over to Syaoran and down at the Princess. She was smiling, despite that small silver tears rolled down her pale cheeks to land on his cloak, the Shadow Heartless still twitching in her arms.


End file.
